Canada Speeds Up Student Visa Process for Indians.
Nationals of four countries, who wish to study in Canada, will benefit from a new, quicker, and simpler visa processing mechanism introduced lately. The new program allows the processing time for study permits for 15 days less than it did previously. Now, the nationals of India, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines who prove they have the language skills and the financial resources to academically succeed in Canada, can get a visa within 45 days by opting for the newly introduced Student Direct Stream (SDS) program.
The new policy changes, which have been introduced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, also require the students who wish to enter Canada through the SDS program, to pay the tuition fees first and to buy a guaranteed investment certificate for $10,000 CAD.
The former Student Partners Program (SPP) required fewer documents for visa applications from foreign students and also limited them to applying to only 400 odd participating colleges and universities in Canada. On the other hand, the newly introduced SDS is available for students wishing to apply to all higher educational institutions, such as colleges and universities.
The changes come just a few days after the announcement that the United Kingdom government has excluded Indian students from the new easier visa norms.
In 2017, the number of Indian students surpassed 100,000 for the first time, whereas taking into account that the number of students admitted in 2017 was not calculated with the others, this year in 2018, the number might be way higher.
IRCC data shows that around 32 thousand new students from India came to study in Canada in 2015 while another around 53 thousand entered the country by August 2017. India remains the second top contributor with students to Canadian universities, right after China.
One of the reasons for the increase of Indian students in Canada may also be the immigration policy changes applied under the administration of President Donald Trump, as well as the new immigration climate created in Britain under the government of Prime Minister Theresa May, which many have criticized as “unwelcoming”.
